2: Hermione & the New Girl
by I don't write HP fics anymore
Summary: Kaylee George arrives at Hogwarts


2: HERMIONE & THE NEW GIRL   
By Kate

It was yet another normal, boring Monday, Hermione thought drearily as she headed down to breakfast. Nothing interesting ever happened to her. Until today.

"_Miss_ Granger, kindly _stop_ writing notes and pay attention," Snape's oily voice snapped through Hermione's thoughts. Hermione looked up from her piece of parchment, her face burning. Actually, she _had_ been listening, but she knew better than to pick a fight with Snape. 

"Sorry, Professor," she muttered, shoving her parchment under her books and out of sight. Snape continued to drill the class with questions that he was sure they didn't know the answer to, although Hermione knew the answer to a good majority of them. 

"...and what would happen if I added powdered dragon's scales with the blood of a salamander?" He asked, looking around the class. No one put their hand up. "Never have I taught a more brainless class!" He said loudly, snapping his book shut and turning his back to the class. "You, Weasley, what's the answer?" He asked, turning around. 

"Er...er..." Ron stammered, his ears turning pink. 

"Nothing..." Hermione whispered to him. 

"Nothing," Ron said with a grateful look at Hermione. 

"Hmm. Yes, indeed. But maybe you should consider learning it yourself, rather that let your walking textbook answer for you," Snape sneered. "Two points from Gryffindor." 

"But...but sir..." Ron pleaded, but Snape had already moved on. Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron and mouthed 'sorry'. He shrugged. 

_What a way to start the day_, Hermione thought gloomily. 

But as the day wore on, Hermione's spirits picked up, after being awarded ten points for Gryffindor for getting full marks on an arithmancy test. Hermione met Harry and Ron as she walked out to Care of Magical Creatures. 

"Wonder what dangerous monster Hagrid's got for us today," Ron said, only half joking. 

"Hagrid wouldn't give us anything we couldn't deal with," Hermione said defensively. 

"She's right," Harry agreed. Hermione hid her smile. 

As it turned out, they were both wrong. Hagrid had decided it was time for a 'textbook' lesson, involving them making notes on creatures they would probably never (and hopefully never) meet. It was a somewhat challenging lesson, for the temptation to go to sleep was almost that of their History of Magic classes. 

Finally, after rewriting half the textbook, Hagrid announced it was the end of they day, and were free to leave. Hermione gathered up her books from where she was sitting at the foot of a tall tree, and waited at Harry and Ron to finish packing up their books, which they had used to build a pyramid. They stood up and brushed themselves off, them picked up their books from the ground. 

"What are your plans for tonight, Ron?" Harry asked him as they wandered up towards the castle. 

"Nothing much...do we have any homework?" He asked Hermione. 

"Nope. Unless you have Divination homework, that is," Hermione told them. 

"Oh, good," Ron said, "a whole evening off." 

They walked in silence until they reached the large doors into the entrance hall. Harry pulled the door open. 

"Ladies first," he said, holding it open for Hermione. She blushed and walked self consciously through, and waited on the other side for Harry and Ron. 

"Thanks," she muttered. 

"You're welcome," Harry replied, walking in after Ron. 

"I think we should--" Harry began. 

"Hermione!" McGonagall's voice interrupted them. "Could you please come with me?" Much to Hermione's relief, McGonagall did not sound angry. Hermione glanced at Harry and Ron, then followed the Professor. 

"Professor, what is this about?" Hermione asked as politely as possible. 

"Don't look so worried, Hermione," McGonagall laughed. Hermione smiled. It was common knowledge that she liked McGonagall and McGonagall liked her. "I need to ask you a favour, though." 

"Oh, what is it?" Hermione asked as they neared McGonagall's office. 

"There has been a new arrival to the school, and I would like you to help her settle in. She has been sorted already, and has been put in Gryffindor, so she will be in your dormitory. She's about your age...sixteen?" Hermione nodded. "She's from a school in Australia, which was relatively small, compared to Hogwarts. She's in here right now," McGonagall finished, pulled open the door. Hermione followed McGonagall through the door. Inside, sitting in a seat, facing the desk, was a girl. 

Her hair was a light brownish red, with blond streaks. It was much lighter at the bottom than the top. Hermione wondered if she had dyed her hair. Her back was facing Hermione, so she couldn't see her face. The girl jumped out of the chair and turned around. Hermione got her first glance at the girl's face. Her eyes were a mish-mash of colours. On the outside, they were grey, but the rest were greenish brown. Her nose was slightly turned up, Hermione noticed, but it made complimented her eyes. A necklace, with a silver five pointed star in a circle, dangled from her neck. She was not exactly pretty--she was interesting looking, which normally implies that she was ugly, but she really was interesting to look at. 

"Hi, you must be Hermione," the girl said in a strange accent. She stuck out her hand, and Hermione took it. 

"Hi...um..." Hermione hesitated. She then realized she had no idea what her name was. 

"Kaylee," the new girl said, laughing. Kaylee? Hermione thought. "Nice to meet you," she continued. Hermione couldn't help but notice that she was very outgoing. Studying her further, Hermione noticed that Kaylee was very short for sixteen. 

"Nice to meet you, too, Kaylee," Hermione said quickly. 

"Now that you're introduced, I think perhaps you should take her to your dormitory, and help Kaylee unpack." McGonagall said, and sat down at her desk. 

Hermione swung open the door and held it for Kaylee, who giggled and stepped out into the narrow hall. Hermione followed her out of the doorway and closed the door quietly. 

"So, Hermione, what's the school like?" Kaylee said as they began to walk. 

"Pretty good," was all Hermione could think of to say. 

"Mmmm," Kaylee paused. "What are your friends like?" 

"Well, my two best friends are Ron and Harry. Ron Weasley and Harry Potter. You've probably heard of Harry," Hermione added. 

"Oh, yeah, I've heard of him. What about this Ron? Is he cute?" Kaylee laughed. 

"Err, I guess so, if you look at him like _that_..." Hermione trailed off. "So...what are your...hobbies?" Hermione changed the subject. 

"We-ell...I used to do gymnastics...but I guess there's no gym around here," Kaylee shook out her hair. "Wanna see what I can do?" 

"Okay," Hermione said cautiously. What did she mean? But she soon realized. Kaylee turned around to face Hermione, who promptly stopped. Kaylee leaned over backwards into a bridge, and into a handstand, which she held for a moment and then kicked back into a standing position. Hermione couldn't believe she did that in the middle of a corridor. 

"Ta da!" Kaylee announced, grinning. "Did ya like it?" 

"Yeah, that was cool. What's it called?" Hermione asked. 

"A back walkover. It's easy compared to the stuff I do on the unevens!" Kaylee laughed again. 

"The unevens?" Kaylee had lost Hermione. 

"The uneven bars," Kaylee explained, smiling at Hermione. "So, what stuff do _you_ do?" 

"Oh...you know, school work, that kind of thing," Hermione said, sounding rather stupid. 

"Oh. You're really smart, aren't you?" Kaylee was completely tactless. Hermione was completely thrown off by the question. What was she supposed to say? 

After a silence, Kaylee spoke again. "Yep, you are." Hermione wasn't sure if she liked this girl much. She was a little... vivacious for Hermione's taste. But still...she had to be nice. It was her first day, after all. 

"What's it like, down under?" Hermione asked, changing the subject hastily. Kaylee laughed again. 

"Down under? No one calls it 'down under' in Australia. We call it Australia. And no, we don't have a kangaroo for a pet," Kaylee said, grinning. Hermione blushed. 

"Whoops, sorry. Oh, here we are," Hermione exclaimed at they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Flibberty Gibbet." 

"Oi! Who's this? I've never seen _her_ before," the Fat Lady commented, eyeing Kaylee. 

"Kaylee George, at your service!" Kaylee said merrily, and the portrait swung open. Hermione waited for Kaylee to climb through, but she didn't make a move. 

"You first," Hermione said finally. 

"'Kay," Kaylee smiled and went in. She stood a few meters into the room, taking in the unlit fireplace and the over stuffed couched and armchairs. Their arrival have made no impression whatsoever on the few people in the common room. 

"Come on, I'll show you the way to our dorm," Hermione said, walking past Kaylee to the stone stairs leading to the girls' dormitories Their footsteps clunked dully on the steps as they reached the top of the staircase. Hermione pulled open the second door on the left, which led into their room. 

Hermione's part of the room was, as usual, immaculate. The rest was nothing short of a mess. Hermione shuddered to think of when Parvati and Lavender have their own houses. A spare bed was between Hermione's and Lavenders, which Hermione supposed was to be Kaylee's, as there was a suitcase on top of it. 

"The cute little house elves took my suitcase. I guess this is where it ended up," Kaylee explained. 

"There's drawers in the bedside cabinet, so you can put your stuff in them," Hermione told Kaylee. 

"So, we only have to wear these dorky black robes on school days, right? We can wear other stuff on weekend, _right?_" Kaylee asked, looking genuinely worried. 

"Yup," Hermione assured her. 

"Cool." Kaylee said simply and began to unpack. Hermione eyed her clothes with interest. She had a lot of short skirts, Hermione noticed. And other very risqué clothing. It was nothing like the pairs of denim jeans and patterned shirts Hermione own. 

Kaylee must have noticed Hermione staring, as she laughed and said, "I guess we have different styles in Australia than here. Gosh, I'll need some new clothes...it's so cold here!" Kaylee said, and Hermione finally noticed what she was wearing. A black pants, with a rip in the knee, and a black sleeveless T-shirt. Hermione had read in one of Parvati's fashion magazines that black was a very sophisticated colour. 

"Hey, I like your necklace," Hermione commented. It stood out well against the black of her clothes. 

"It's a pentagram," Kaylee told her. 

"Oh. It's pretty, anyway," Hermione said. 

"Thanks," Kaylee said, grinning at her. 

Finally, Kaylee had finished unpacking, and it was time for dinner. As Kaylee had put her things in her drawers, Hermione briefly told her about the teachers and subjects. It appeared Kaylee was doing all the same subjects as Harry and Ron. Hermione also explained the school rules, although Hermione had the feeling that rules meant almost nothing to Kaylee. 

"So, is the food here good? Or is it, like, really sick?" Kaylee asked Hermione as they headed towards the Great Hall for dinner. Hermione was vaguely wondering where Harry and Ron were. 

"It's okay," Hermione said as the reached the large, open doors of the Great Hall. The hall was almost full, and with a glance at the Gryffindor table, she noticed Harry and Ron, with their backs to her. 

"Come on," Hermione said, grabbing Kaylee's wrist and pulling her over there. She tapped Harry on the shoulder. 

"Oh, hello," Harry said to Hermione after he had turned around. "Where were you?" 

"Where were _you_?" Hermione asked. 

"Quidditch practice. We need to get real good for the final," Harry told her. 

"Who's _she_?" Ron said suddenly, interrupting Harry. He had spotted Kaylee, who was hovering awkwardly behind Hermione. 

"Oh, yeah. Guys, this is Kaylee. Kaylee, this is Harry and Ron," Hermione said. Ron was staring goggle eyed at the new girl. Hermione kicked him. 

"Ouch!" Ron exclaimed. "What was that for?!" 

"Once you put your eyes back in you head..." Hermione said. Ron blushed, and Kaylee giggled, and sat down next to Ron. Hermione sighed and sat next to Harry, in the only empty seat. 

"He seems to like her," Harry commented, and Ron, who was bright red, talked to Kaylee. 

"So, what's the verdict? Nice, or what?" Hermione asked. 

"What?" Harry said, turning back to her. 

"Kaylee! Do you like her?" Hermione said. 

"Yeah. I mean, not in _that_ way, but she seems nice enough," Harry added hastily. Hermione inwardly grinned. She was glad Harry didn't like her in that way. 

"So...what do you think? She'll be your new best friend?" Hermione said in spite of herself. 

"Nah...no one could replace you..." Harry blushed. Hermione glowed. 

"Ahem!" Dumbledore's voice silenced the Great Hall. He was smiling. He glanced around the hall, and went on. "It is very rare that I get to introduce you to a new student in the middle of the year, but today that is exactly what I will do. She is sixteen, and she will be in sixth year. She has been sorted into...Gryffindor. Please make Kaylee George welcome!"

"Stand up!" Hermione muttered to Kaylee. Kaylee did so, and waved to the reat of the students. Everyone's heads turned towards Kaylee. Whispers broke out, especially within the Gryffindor. Kaylee hurriedly sat down again. Hermione noticed a red tinge in her cheeks.

"The second, which I'm sure will interest the older students greatly, is that a week from Saturday, there will be a dance for all those in sixth year and above. It will take place on the evening after the Quidditch final, so you will have something to celebrate. Unfortunately, no younger students can attend, unless, of course, they are invited by an older student. That is all," and Dumbledore sat down. The hall erupted with excited voices.

Hermione could only wonder, would Harry ask her to the dance?

A**_/ _**N   
This is about the millionth time I've rewritten this story! I've tried it with lots of different people from different countries. The problem was, I wasn't sure how they would act, etc. So I finally decided to create Kaylee, who is **ME**!Well, not entirely. I'm called Kate, not Kaylee, I don't do gym and I'm tall. I _am_ from Australia, and the description is pretty much me. And the kinda (very) crazy personality is ME ME ME!!   
Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that. Kaylee is a fictional character, but she is based on ME. By the way, does anyone know why she laughs so much? I guess no one will ever know...   
My first story was kinda forced. This one just runs off it's own creative juices, mainly because I love writing about Kaylee. This one is longer, and more...flowery, if you get what I mean. Hope you liked it! 

Kate 


End file.
